Denver/Boulder Bar Bites for Grown-Ups

By Ruth Tobias | March 19, 2014

Welcome to the Zagat #BarBlitz, our one-day celebration of all things shaken, stirred and sipped. Remember to keep the party going all day long on Twitter and Instagram!

Poppers, tots and tenders have their time and place - but listen, we’re all adults here. So think of it this way: would you rather belly up to a bar next to Harold and Kumar or James Bond? The snacks in this slide show evoke glamorous nights in worldly destinations, not drive-thru windows.

Amid Art Deco flourishes and the flicker of old black-and-white films screening on one wall, Z Cuisine’s adjacent absinthe bar in LoHi turns out French comforts par excellence, including this robust staple of cider-braised pork belly over lentil ragout.

It came as a surprise even to chef-owner Lon Symensma that his luxurious take on a Singaporean daytime snack would become such a sensation. But no meal at this glam Asian fusion LoDo destination is complete without an order of toast slathered in pandan-coconut jam and accompanied by a sous-vide “egg cloud” for dipping.

While octopus is spreading its tentacles everywhere these days, this Jefferson Park haunt recently introduced a truly original showcase for the mollusk. Here, its almost-buttery flesh is chopped and tossed with a vibrant mix of olives, tomatoes, almonds, capers, red onion and more, then served with a splash of gazpacho broth.

Given the dearth of Spanish tapas in this town, Baker's brand-new, already-hot Mediterranean neighborhood spot is filling quite a void via morsels like these, zesty with white anchovies and red peppers.

Since sampling it at the opening of Troy Guard’s splashy new downtown steakhouse, we’ve grown mildly obsessed with this appetizer of sliced, deftly grilled beef heart set atop potato rösti and daubed with romesco. If you’ve never tried heart, trust us - the flavor is far more like steak than like, say, liver.

Generously topped with breadcrumbs and broiled in tarragon-lemon butter, these Chesapeake Bay oysters go down oh-so-easy alongside the right, light-bodied glass of Pinot Noir. In fact, the hardest thing about happy hour at this contemporary Uptown eatery can be finding a single seat at the jam-packed bar.

There's not an item among chef Alex Figura's ever-changing, brilliantly conceived selection of small plates we wouldn’t welcome whole-heartedly into any lineup of nibbles. But the brisket fritters garnished with a smidgen of garlic pudding (pictured left) have emerged as a signature for a reason - you could down a whole slew of these two-bite pops of crunchy, creamy, beefy goodness in a matter of minutes.

Deeply earthy, funky huitlacoche gets its due tossed with oyster mushrooms and queso fresco on a homemade poblano tortilla at this rollicking Cherry Creek cantina - whose LoDo sibling is in soft-opening mode as we speak.